Our countdown of X Factor series nine's most memorable moments - some great, some terrible - continues with numbers 10 to 6.

Today's list includes the first appearances from a certain pint-sized shelf-stacker, a Pussycat Doll who has repeatedly caught our attention this year and that man with shaky hands.

10. ASDA Jahmene - a star is born
From his ill-fitting suit to his nervous titter, it was hard not to fall for Jahmene Douglas at his first audition. The ASDA shelf-stacker blew away the judges with his version of 'At Last', which Gary Barlow claimed was the best vocal performance he had ever seen.

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Louis Walsh declared that a star was born, while his future mentor Nicole Scherzinger admitted that she just wanted to "eat" him up. Jahmene insisted that he was a "worrier" and a "stay-at-home guy", but after this performance, his life was going to change forever.

9. Scherzingerisms.
Louis has been going through the motions. Gary's been in a grump about Rylan. And Tulisa looks like she's got a whole bag of frozen chips on her shoulder. So hallelujah for Nicole Scherzinger.

Whether she's been throwing Dermot O'Leary off his lines by thrusting in her catsuit, talking waffle about cheeseburgers and Coco Pops, commenting on the size of her acts' testicles or simply making up words ("Jahmazing"), she has been a breath of fresh air on the live shows.

8. Lucy Spraggan's Beer Fear
Spraggan's X Factor journey was sadly cut short due to ill health, but it may benefit the cheeky singer-songwriter in the long-run, because her quirky musical style was a long way from the usual ballad singers and divas found on the ITV stage.

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The singer's first audition remains one of the show's most popular of all time and almost secured her a No.1 single before she obliged to X Factor bosses and removed the track from iTunes. No.1 or not, Spraggan's song about "Beer Fear" was a hit and won't be forgotten in a hurry.

7. Meet... Ella Henderson
She was only 16. 16. We'd get sick of hearing about Ella Henderson's age come the live shows, but at her first audition, her composure, cool and vocal prowess astounded us and the judges.

Ella's self-penned track for her granddad had the judges fighting over her ("That was out of this world", "You are just a star") and the bookies backing her to win the show from week one. Her exit in the live shows before the final was one of X Factor's biggest ever shocks, but perhaps it was her inability to match this very first performance that was always holding her back.

6. Christopher Maloney (and his nan) begin their journey
Maloney the phoney. Baloney Maloney. King of Cheese. Fakey shakey. Christopher Maloney has had to suffer unprecedented levels of abuse from the media, the judges, fans and the Twittersphere since being picked as the nation's wildcard and winning his way through to the final.

His old-fashioned song choices, complete lack of style and constant references to "me nan" have annoyed some viewers and the X Factor hierarchy, but way back at his first audition, there was nothing but love for the Liverpudlian crooner. Louis Walsh's eyes lit up at the first notes of Bette Midler and the entire judging panel, including Tulisa, gave his cover of 'The Rose' a standing ovation. How things change.